Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock get most of the credit for building this year’s Las Vegas Raiders playoff team but there are a lot of people who had a hand in building the roster. The team has made some questionable decisions over the last few years. Drafting Damon Arnette, signing Trent Brown and trading for Antonio Brown come to mind as some of the worst.
Despite some misses in free agency, Raiders director of pro scouting Dwayne Joseph could garner some interest for teams looking for a general manager this offseason. According to Mike Sando of The Athletic, he’s one of the top names to keep an eye on.
“A former Bears cornerback, Joseph has spent most of the past two decades in pro scouting with the Dolphins, Bears, Eagles and Raiders. He won a Super Bowl with the Eagles,” Sando wrote.
As the director of pro scouting, Joseph has had a hand in many of the Raiders’ free agent signings. 2019 and 2020 were rough free agencies with the team as they gave big contracts to players like Brown, LaMarcus Joyner, Cory Littleton and Tyrell Williams. All of those guys are either no longer on the team or don’t have much of a role anymore. However, 2021 free agency was very good. Players like Yannick Ngakoue, Quenton Jefferson and Casey Hayward have all been strong additions. Joseph has proven himself to be a capable executive and the next step could be becoming a general manager.
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Reggie McKenzie Also Listed as a Candidate
With a number of general manager jobs opening up across the NFL, there will be a lot of names brought up for consideration. Another name to keep an eye on is Miami Dolphins senior personnel executive Reggie McKenzie, per Sando.
“McKenzie, a former Raiders GM, had a 40-72 record in the role from 2012-18 after winning two Super Bowls with Green Bay during nearly two decades in Packers’ front office. He played linebacker for the Raiders and Cardinals,” Sando wrote.
Raiders fans are familiar with McKenzie has he served as the team’s general manager for seven seasons. He got off to a rough start with the hiring of Dennis Allen as head coach. He quickly gained favor when he engineered the 2014 draft when he selected Khalil Mack, Derek Carr, Gabe Jackson, Justin Ellis and T. J. Carrie who were impact players for the team and are still in the NFL. He followed that up with some poor draft decisions like taking Gareon Conley, Karl Joseph, Jihad Ward and Obi Melifonwu. He was fired during the 2018 season but could still get another crack at being a general manager.
10 years ago … January 10, 2012
The #Raiders named Reggie McKenzie as their general manager.
Will Raiders Need a New GM?
With the Raiders getting into the playoffs, Mayock may have secured keeping the general manager job for at least another year. However, that’s not guaranteed. Owner Mark Davis isn’t predictable so he may want a fresh start even with the team making the playoffs.
If the Raiders move on from Mayock, it’s possible that Davis will want to hire a head coach who will essentially be in charge of personnel. If not, promoting a guy like Joseph could be a smart move considering his hand in building the current roster.
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Key Raiders Executive Named NFL GM Candidate by Insider